


Haunted House on the Hill

by ximeria



Series: 2017 Bimonthly Shorts (x-men AUs) [20]
Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies), X-Men (Comicverse), X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern: Still Have Powers, Alternate Universe - Still Have Powers, Halloween, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-15
Updated: 2017-10-15
Packaged: 2019-01-17 20:11:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12373167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ximeria/pseuds/ximeria
Summary: Erik's not too sure at first about Raven talking him into taking Lorna to a haunted house party in Westchester. What if it's too scary? What if it's too boring? Isheexpected to socialize as well?





	Haunted House on the Hill

**Author's Note:**

> A little early Halloween fluff *g*

It had all started when Raven told him that there was a haunted house party and suggested he took his spawn. Currently Lorna's favourite term when it came to her relationship with Erik.

"Come on, Erik - Lorna'll love it."

Erik didn't' doubt that, his hell spawn loved Halloween and everything that came with it. Sugar, dressup, sugar, scary stories, sugar - had he mentioned she liked the sugar? And he was normally stuck dealing with a hyper mutant kid in the wake.

Not that he'd have it any other way, he loved her to bits, even during the sugar rush of Halloween.

"I take it we'll need tickets," he sighed. He made enough money for them to live well, but everything was getting more expensive these days and caring for a kid took a great big chunk out of his finances.

Raven shook her head. "It is private, but Charles will be more than fine with us bringing you guys along. He's generally happy that I have friends and friends with kids that Kurt gets along with."

"Your brother runs this?" Erik asked curiously. He'd known Raven for more than half a year by now, but she didn't often speak of her brother.

"Yeah, he doesn't have any kids himself," she said with a shrug. "He's always so crazy busy - it's not that he doesn't want to settle down, but… it's just never been right." She sat back in her chair and watched as her son helped Erik's six year old daughter build something huge and possibly reality altering in lego. It was definitely leaning towards defying gravity at the moment.

"If you're sure it's okay," he finally said - as asocial as he could be himself, he had to keep in mind that it was good for his kid to be around others.

"It will be more than okay," Raven promised him.

And this would be how Erik ended up going to a haunted house themed party in Westchester. He just hadn't expected Raven to insist he dress up as well and for her to take charge on it. Erik caught his reflection in the mirror in the lavish entry hall of the mansion they were in. Black suit with dark purple lapels and hair spiked up, Erik wasn't sure what Raven had tried to accomplish.

The mansion they were in had all the air of a haunted house itself. The weather had been helping a lot with that. Considering that the weather forecast had promised a clear sky for the evening, the clouds over the mansion had been dark and foreboding, shrouding the house in shadows. Freak act of nature, or….? Erik rolled his shoulders - there was a strange charge to the air that he wasn't familiar with from other storms brewing. And Erik was a bit of a connoisseur of storms - he enjoyed sitting up through the night when a stormfront rolled in, just enjoying the charge of electricity around him.

As he caught up with the kids and their parents, easily finding Raven, he couldn't quite shake the feeling that he was being watched, almost like a ghostly presence.

Lorna tugged on his jacket and Erik bent down next to her. She was dressed in her Pokémon trainer outfit with her stuffed Haunter under her arm. Erik had a lot of scathing remarks about children's entertainment these days, but he was pretty okay with her current obsession. Could've been worse.

"You okay, Lorna?" he asked quietly. He hadn't been entirely sure about taking her - she might be a little too young.

Anyone who thought a six-year-old couldn't roll their eyes with the best of the had never met his daughter. "Of course I am - are you, dad? This might be scary."

Erik fought to keep a straight face. "I'll be alright as long as you're with me."

Lorna nodded gravely and held up her hand for him to take. "I'll protect you, dad."

Erik took her hand and stood up to follow the rest of the group. There were about ten or so parents with a horde of kids - and Erik was happy to see that more than a few of them were visibly mutants.

_"Most of the kids are mutants - visible mutations or not,"_ a voice whispered.

Erik stopped for a moment. Had that been-?

The voice didn't continue and Erik shook it off. Maybe he'd been working too hard lately, and he was now hearing voices. A quick check and he found Raven ahead of them with Kurt, who was dressed up as a rather dashing pirate.

He didn't miss her turning her head and eyeing him knowingly. Yeah, yeah, so his asocial ways weren't exactly a secret - but sticking to the rear end of the group would also allow him to keep Lorna from rushing headfirst into anything that might scare her - no matter how tough she might think she was.

The whole walk through the converted wing of the house with its hidden trapdoors, the young people who were acting as witches, wizards, zombies and ghosts were a bit of a surprise. And more fun than Erik had expected, even if he kept feeling like he was being watched.

_"I do apologize, I didn't mean to pick up on your thoughts earlier."_ The voice was back and this time Erik was sure it wasn't just a trick of his mind.

Dredging up what he could remember Emma teaching him when they'd been in high school, Erik focused his reply. _"Telepath or ghost?"_

The laughter in his head felt oddly comfortable. _"Guilty as charged - I'm Charles and no ghost."_

_"Erik,"_ Erik pushed back, finding it easier to do than he'd expected. Maybe all Emma's bitching at him had paid off after all.

_"Miss Frost is a force to be reckoned with,"_ Charles replied, his laughter feeling ticklish to Erik.

_"You're Raven's brother, aren't you?"_ Erik asked as he let Lorna tug him along. He wasn't sure he wanted to know how Charles knew Emma.

Erik hadn't expected to enjoy the haunted house as much as he did, but it wasn't down to the same reasons his daughter was having a good time. It took nearly an hour to go through the house, and while Erik kept an eye on Lorna, he kept half his attention on his ongoing conversation with Charles. Which was, safe to say, the strangest jumping from one eclectic topic to another, but nevertheless more enjoyable than any adult conversation he'd had in ages.

_"Well, you're almost at the end,"_ Charles eventually said. _"I have to go for a bit, but we'll meet in person in a moment anyway."_

Erik felt a little bereft as he picked Lorna up. She'd been flagging a bit for the past few minutes, but he knew her stubbornness rivalled his own, so he also knew how to time his intervention right. If he tried to pick her up too early, she'd just tell him not to and keep walking until she keeled over.

It wasn't until they entered the last room that Erik realized just why Charles was busy. Lorna grew still in his arms and while he was aware of all the other kids acting oddly, he had to focus on how she flailed a moment later, nearly leaping from his grip.

"Daddy, daddy, it's a Gangar, it's so big!"

Erik wondered what she was on about - The whole room seemed to be dark to him.

_"I'll show you what she's seeing - everyone is seeing whatever will appeal to them the most - and your daughter is pretty ghost obsessed."_

Before Erik could answer Charles, a huge, purple monster appeared in front of them and Erik managed to stop himself from reacting, especially seeing as his daughter was wriggling happily because she wanted to hug the thing. Erik watched in awe as the behemoth leaned down and kissed his daughter on the head before stepping back, winking at her and dissipating into thin air.

"Daddy, that was soooooo cool!" Lorna was completely beside herself with joy.

_"Thanks,"_ Erik pushed at Charles, _"I won't hear the end of it now, but that was pretty awesome."_ Not to mention it must've taken a level of telepathy to do this to every individual kid that spoke of an omega- Erik's contemplations ground to a halt as the light came on and the room turned out to be decked to the nines in halloween themed stuff, the table nearly groaning under the weight of food and treats.

"Brilliant as always, brother," Raven called as she followed Kurt, who ran up to the man in the wheelchair in the middle of the room.

Charles laughed out loud and caught his nephew to hug him. "Hello you, and thank you, Raven."

Erik let Lorna down and watched her run over to Kurt before the both of them went over to the table to no doubt eat too much candy.

_"There's healthy stuff there too,"_ Charles whispered in his head.

Erik stared at him. It had hit him a moment before, when he'd realized how powerful a telepath Charles had to be. "Professor Xavier," he managed to get out when all the other parents had trooped past Charles to say hi.

"So formal, Erik - you weren't holding back during our conversation before," Charles teased.

"I didn't know it was you," Erik admitted, feeling a little silly. "You're a bit of a legend and Raven never told me her brother was Charles Xavier." Not to mention the man was possibly more attractive in real life than in the media.

"I'm actually glad," Charles said with a wink. "I enjoyed our conversation when you weren't holding back."

Erik would be lying if he claimed he hadn't felt the same.

"Do you think you could look past my fame and have another one with me - face to face?" Charles asked.

Erik opened his mouth to answer then shut it. Was Charles flirting with him?

Charles' cheeks pinked up a little. "I may be a bit rusty." Charles turned his attention to the horde mobbing the tables of food. "Your daughter has a very lovely mutation."

Erik was glad to have the attention focused on anything else but how awkward he felt flirting himself. It had been easier when he'd just had Charles' voice in his head. But he was dead set on getting past that, because he may have had Professor Xavier on a pedestal, but Charles was a lot more approachable.

"Thank you. She's quite proud of that shock of green hair," he replied. It may brand her as different in other people's eyes, but Erik had worked hard to let her know it made her unique in a good way instead of simply making her different in a bad way.

Erik was torn from his conversation by Raven sidling up next to him. "Can't leave you alone with the only single dad in the room, huh, Charles?"

Charles made a face at her. "Can't I crave intelligent conversation every once in awhile without a nefarious agenda?"

Erik smiled at him and delighted in the flush to Charles' cheeks. He had an inkling it would be something he'd enjoy seeing more often.

Charles caught his eye and they both ignored Raven's groan.

"I think I wouldn't mind nefarious agendas," Erik admitted, ducking the slap from Raven. "We're both adults after all."

"Not so sure about that," Raven said with a snort as she left them to their own devices to check on the kids.

Erik followed Charles over to a couple of comfy chairs to the side. He could enjoy Charles' company and keep an eye on his daughter at the same time. And he was damned happy that Raven had talked him into coming along.


End file.
